Hey readers! Happy Marichat May!

Can't go though Marichat May without adding another chapter here. At least, not until it's finished.

Anyway, enjoy!

The next morning, Adrien was feeling pretty great.

Marinette had forgiven him and Ladybug said she was proud of him. How could he not be over the moon?

And Marinette was finally well enough to come back to school.

When he entered the building—all fixed up after his Lucky Charm—Adrien couldn't help but look up at the archway above him. Then down to the ground of the courtyard. This was the place. The spot where he had found Marinette lying unconscious, half-buried in a pile of rubble.

Still. Pale. Silent. Blood oozing from her head…

The sound of adorable giggling snapped him out of his terrifying flashback. Adrien looked across the courtyard and saw Marinette with all her girl friends, standing around and talking.

This brought the smile back to Adrien's face. She was fine. She was happy, and surrounded by people who loved her.

Feeling good about the day, Adrien walked up to the girls. "Good morning, Marinette," he greeted her.

"Oh. Hi, Adrien. Good morning," she replied happily. Even with the bandage still on the side of her forehead, Adrien did his best to only stare at her smile. Or her incredibly big blue eyes.

"You look like you're feeling much better," he added.

"Yeah, I'm feeling good."

"Probably thanks to all those cards and flowers we've been bringing her," Mylene said.

"That must be it. My room is so full of flowers, the floral smells are overpowering the usual bakery smells," Marinette said, making them all giggle.

"Well, I'm glad to see you up and about," Adrien told her. Seeing her face at school again was very comforting. During the days she had been absent, he missed her more than he originally thought he would.

Joining their group next were Max and Kim, also sporting friendly faces. "Hey, Marinette," Max said as he and his athletic friend approached.

"Hi Max. Kim," the bluenette greeted them.

"You feeling okay today?" the brainiac asked concerned.

Marinette sighed a little. "Yes," she said, smiling but slight annoyed. People had been asking her that all morning. She was getting kind of tired of telling them over and over again that she was fine. Well, hopefully everyone will see she truly was okay today so she won't have to continue doing it tomorrow. Best to just get it over with today so they could all move on.

"Are you sure you should be in school? What if another akuma attacks here and you get caught in the crossfire again?" Kim said.

"That's not gonna happen again. I've learned my lesson; leave it to the heroes and get the hell out of there," Marinette reassured him. True, she was a bit nervous about going anywhere just after getting out of the hospital—especially back to the scene of where her accident occurred—but she had a life to get back to. And it's like she said, she had learned from her mistake. So she was gonna make sure it never happened again.

"Good. If I were you, I wouldn't want to be in the same vicinity as that guy either," Kim huffed, crossing his arms.

This comment had the whole group, including Marinette raising an eye brow. "Uh, that guy?" she asked.

"Chat Noir," the taller boy sneered. Adrien suddenly felt like he was shrinking. Looks like he wasn't the only one who blames the feline hero for what happened to their beloved classmate. "I mean, after what he did to you-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there, Kim," Marinette sternly cut him off. Adrien snapped his attention back to the bluenette as she stepped a bit closer to Kim. "Chat Noir didn't do anything to me. What happened was an unfortunate incident that could have been prevented if I had listened to Alya and ran out with the rest of you," she said, gesturing to her best friend behind her. She and all the other girls nodded in agreement. "However, he did find me yesterday after I got home and apologized. He felt really bad about what happened and was glad to see that I was okay."

"And what did you say?" Alya asked anxiously. The fact that the Chat Noir had gone to her house not just to visit her but to personally apologize to her was amazing!

Marinette turned her head back at the giddy reporter. "I told him that I forgave him," she told her before turning her speech back to Kim. "I hold no grudge or bad feelings towards him, so I don't think any of you guys should either."

There was a pause as Kim digested her words. Everyone else waited for a response or reaction of some sort. Adrien prayed the hardest that he didn't start cursing Chat Noir's name anyway.

Finally, Kim sighed and nodded his head, accepting the class president's reasoning. As the others started chatting again, Adrien sighed in relief. He already knew Marinette had forgiven him, but it was extra reassuring to see her defending his name to their classmates who still might think bad of him.

She had every right to be angry and let others speak ill of him, even speak ill of him herself. Instead, she mercifully forgave him and encouraged her friends to as well.

Marinette was truly a one in a million friend.

The bell rang so the group started making their way to homeroom.

"So, Marinette. Now that you're home, do you want to go see that movie after school?" Alya asked her BFF as they got to the stairs.

Their group of girl friends were supposed to go to the movies a few nights ago, but Marinette couldn't go because she was still in the hospital. So Alya volunteered to stay behind while the other girls saw it, then Alya could go see it with Marinette for the first time after she was better.

"Oh yeah, sure. But you're gonna have to wait a little while. I have to stay after to take that make-up quiz," Marinette reminded her.

"That's not a problem. That's like, what, half an hour?"

"Ms. Bustier said I'd have forty-five minutes but I could finish in half an hour."

"No, don't rush, girl. I can wait."

Adrien was walking behind and couldn't help overhearing their conversation. As they entered the classroom, his body ran on autopilot as he sat at his desk, his mind thinking about that one simple thing…

Marinette was going out?

A sudden but very strong sense of worry came over the young model.

She just got out of the hospital and she was going to go out and potentially get hurt again? She should be staying home and taking it easy for a bit longer. Until she's fully healed.

Adrien hated to admit this, but that sounded like what his father does; keeping someone locked up for their 'safety' and 'well-being.' He knew that if this had happened to him, his father wouldn't let him leave the house for a month. Maybe longer. Not even for fencing or photo shoots. He hated that his father thought that way and tried to force it on him, so how could he think that was best for Marinette?

But he couldn't help it. Something really bad just happened to Marinette and he couldn't protect her. So he just wanted to make sure she stayed safe from now on. His father was overprotective 24/7, whether something happened or not. And nothing ever really happens to him directly. Plus, his father won't let him go out for simple things like hanging with his friends and…

…going to the movies.

Adrien fought the urge to bang his head on his desk.

Marinette was just going to the movies with a friend. She wasn't going bungy-jumping. He should not be that worried. She was fine going to places like the movies and school.

True, that accident had happened here at school, but at least here, she was surrounded by good people who care about her and friends.

Friends like him.

Friends that could keep an eye on her to make sure she was safe.

By the time school was over, Adrien was still having an internal debate. Weighing the pros and cons of this idea.

On the one hand, he wanted to make sure Marinette stayed safe. But on the other, this felt sort of like stalking.

On another, Marinette was still healing. If something happened to her while her skull fracture wasn't completely well, it could become worse.

He had done the research. A closed skull fracture, one that didn't require any surgery and didn't have any associated injuries to other structures like the brain—which was what Marinette had—took approximately six weeks to heal on its own.

She should at least be taking it easy those six weeks. And he wanted to make sure that she stayed well during that healing period.

Adrien was reluctant to get into his bodyguard's car and leave the school. But he knew Marinette was still in the building and would be staying there for a while longer. As soon as he got up to his bedroom, he had made his decision.

"Seriously? You're going to waste your time spying on Pigtails?" Plagg berated his holder.

"It's not spying or a waste of time," Adrien told him. "I just want to make sure she stays safe while she's still healing. At least when she's out and about," he reasoned while loading some books into a backpack. "Look, I just want to make sure she leaves the school and gets to the theater with Alya without any disturbances. Then after the movie, make sure she gets home safely. I won't watch her if she's safe at home."

"Fine, but there better be something pretty special for me in this," the kwami grumbled.

"Oh, there will be. Later on," Adrien promised. "Plagg, claws out!"

When Chat Noir arrived on the roof of the school, he used the scope on his baton to see closer into Ms. Bustier's classroom. The red-haired teacher was sitting at her desk. He could also see Marinette sitting at her desk, still taking the quiz.

There Chat stayed, alternating between pacing the roof and opening his baton to see if Marinette was done yet. About half an hour later, when he looked through his baton scope for the sixth or seventh time, he finally saw Marinette standing in front of Ms. Bustier's desk, handing in her completed worksheet. He watched as the bluenette waved their teacher goodbye and walked out the classroom door. She pulled out her phone and it looked like she was texting, then she started walking down the stairs.

Thankfully, she made it down into the courtyard without tripping or stumbling. Just before she made it to the exit, he saw Alya leaving the library and ran to catch up with her. The two friends left the school together and made their way to the subway entrance close by.

Deciding whether to follow them into the subway was tough. He could watch from a high-vantage point, but the subway was underground where that wouldn't be possible. He'd definitely stick out.

And it wasn't like Marinette was alone. Alya was with her. She wouldn't let anything happen to her BFF. She'd be fine with her, at least until they got to the theater.

Using his baton, Chat launched himself over to the next rooftop and onward until he reached the movie theater.

He had checked the movie schedule and determined they would be attending the 3:40 showing of the film. Which meant, it will be over at about 6 o'clock. But he still wanted to see that she—they—got there safely. A while later, he finally saw the two friends running across the street, into the building. Great timing too. Their movie started in just a few minutes.

With Marinette safely in the movie theater with her best friend, he had a few hours to kill before the film was over.

Good thing he brought his homework with him. He didn't have time to do any of it before leaving his room so now was the ideal time. He would have gone into the theater to watch the movie too, but he felt that would have drawn too much attention to himself.

Chat Noir, sitting in a movie theater, drinking a soda. Not very discrete.

It wasn't other people noticing him that he was worried about. He definitely didn't want Marinette to notice him. She was smart. He was positive that if she noticed him there, she'd know that he was following her. And he didn't want to have to explain to her why he was following her.

He understood that she wasn't mad at him for the incident, but she'd probably be if she found out a sneaky cat was prowling around, following her wherever she went. He knows he would if he found out his father hired someone to follow him around without him knowing.

Okay. Maybe this was stalking. But it was temporary stalking. Just while Marinette went out and only until she fully healed.

By the time Chat finished his homework, it was close to 6. The sky had turned a gentle orange and pink above him as he waited. He backed up his study materials and kept his eyes focused on the theater entrance. Their movie should hopefully be over soon. He watched a few people leave the theater and go in. Eventually, he saw them.

They were laughing, which made Chat smile. Seeing Marinette happy and enjoying herself was a great thing to see.

They stood at the entrance, talking about something. He couldn't hear from so far away. Then Alya…walked away.

She waved to Marinette, she waved back, and walked in the opposite direction.

What? Why weren't they going home together?

That was when he recalled that Alya's home wasn't far from the theater, so she was walking there. Marinette's home on the other, was back the way they had come. Farther away.

Marinette being out with a friend was one thing, but out alone was definitely another.

No one was beside her, watching her back as she walked the streets of Paris.

Well, he was. If not beside her, then from above. Like a guardian angel.

Chat jumped along the rooftops, making sure not to lose sight of his princess. As he thought, she was heading back into the subway.

This proved to be problematic. Alya wasn't with her this time. He was fine with not going down there because she was with her and he didn't think he could properly camouflage himself in such a crowded, concentrated space. People would definitely recognize him. Then, he would be one over-excited fan exclamation away from Marinette knowing he was there.

He couldn't watch her from above while underground. Trying to watch while sneaking down there wouldn't be as easy. However, he couldn't ignore his urge to watch over his healing friend, who was now all alone. He just needed to be extra careful.

The black-cat blonde jumped down from the roof and grabbed a newspaper draped over the side of a trash can. Quickly, he jumped down into the subway station and hid behind a vending machine. Peaking behind the corner, he saw Marinette standing by the tracks, waiting for the train.

She wasn't over the safety zone line, so that made him feel a lot better. Before anyone could notice him, Chat zipped over to a bench, sat down and opened the paper, covering his face and upper body. Using his clawed finger tips, Chat pocked out two eye-holes in the paper so he could look through it instead of over it. He could see his bluenette's back clearly like this.

He obviously couldn't get on the train with her. Or even in the car next to hers. He would jump onto the top and ride up there. He could look down into the car through a window to check on her a few times until she got off. And when she was safe at home, he'd go home too.

There he sat, and there she stood serval minutes later. The train was running a bit late. She was looking at her phone, waiting patiently.

While he waited, Chat's mind drifted back to thinking about if he was overstepping.

The more he did this, the more it felt like stalking. The more he felt like a creeper. Was he being too cautious? Marinette was a big girl. She could take care of herself. And when he talked to her the other night, she had promised that she was gonna be more careful about her safety. But that was mainly for if there was an akuma. Those were the most dangerous things in Paris right now, but there were other dangerous things in everyday life before Hawkmoth.

Reckless drivers, muggers, and of course; accidents.

He wanted to avoid those most of all. Or help Marinette avoid them.

.

.

.

It all happened so fast.

One minute, everything was normal for a Parisian subway station, the next, a boy in roller blades came jumping down the stairs. When he reached the bottom, he couldn't stop in time and bumped into a woman with a stroller. When she fell over, her body fell against the stroller with her baby in it, pushing it forward, straight into a collision course with his unsuspecting bluenette princess.

Not paying attention, the stroller hit Marinette from behind, making her lose her balance and stumble forward. Over the safety line and off the platform.

Landing on the tracks didn't do her much damage. She was able to stick her hands out to brace herself in time. She was used to falls like these. Both as Marinette and as Ladybug.

On her knees, she raised her hands up to look at them. They were dirty and had two or three scratches, but nothing too bad.

BBUUUURRRRRRHHHHHHHH!

A blaring horn echoed through the station.

Startled, Marinette looked to her right and saw twin blinding lights growing bigger and bigger by the second.

Frozen literally like a deer caught in headlights, she just sat there on her knees, staring at the oncoming train that was seconds away from flattening her and she couldn't go anywhere to avoid it.

Barely half a second later, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and pull her up. Up to her feet, then up out of that hole. Marinette and her savior landed on the floor of the opposite platform. She could hear the train passing them by as they laid there.

When the roar of the train was gone, Marinette had finally regained her breath. After realizing she was indeed still alive, she turned her head to thank her savior. But they grabbed her by the shoulders and made her sit up first.

"MARINETTE!" her savior hollered in her face. "Are you okay?! Are you hurt?! How's your head?!"

"Chat?" she uttered. Seeing his frantic face, feeling his tense hands on her shoulders was unexpected. Before she could even attempt to say anything else, the feline hero pulled her into him, hugging her tight like both their lives depended on it.

Around them, people were clapping, cheering, whistling, snapping pictures, and shouting praises to Chat Noir for his heroism. But Chat didn't hear any of that. All he could hear was his own heavy breathing and his heartbeat in his ears.

It had happened again. Or, it almost happened again.

Right in front of him, he almost lost her again. But this time, he hadn't been the cause and he was able to prevent any harm from coming to her.

That blow she took to the head might not have killed her, but that train certainly would have if he hadn't been there.

Any previous doubts he might have had before about being too cautious were long forgotten.

Marinette needed him, for sure.

He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there holding her for, but after he was finally calm—realizing that she was safe—he noticed that she was talking to him.

"…are staring. You can let me go now," he heard her say.

"Oh, right," Chat said, releasing his arms from around her, only to grab her hands and help her stand up. "You feel okay?" he asked her.

Marinette took her hands back and caressed them a bit. "My hands are a little sore but I'm fine." They just needed a washing, some disinfectant, and maybe a bandage or two and then she'd be right as rain.

Chat looked at them too. All the dirt, grim, and the small cuts made his frown deepen. "I'll take you home." He didn't say it like an offer, more like a statement.

"You don't need to do that. My train will be here any minute," she tried to tell him, but he wasn't having it.

"Marinette," he said calmly but firmly, while reaching out to gently grasp both her forearms. "Please…you're hurt. Let me take you home," he practically begged, looking her in the eyes.

Marinette still wanted to insist that she was fine, but she could recognize how upset her partner was. And she was the one who almost died. His guilt was still there. She could see it in his eyes. She was pretty startled herself, but she was trying to be tough. Where was the harm in letting him taking her home to make them both feel a bit better?

"Alright," she said quietly.

Without another word to her or the people around them, Chat scooped the bluenette into his arms, carrying her bridal-style out of the station. When they reached the surface street, Chat jumped up to the top of the nearest building and started running along the rooftops.

Marinette didn't say anything the whole journey, and neither did her partner. He kept his eyes forward, focusing on where he was going. Feeling the wind hitting the side of her face, Marinette thought about what had just happened. She was beyond thankful that he saved her—when she got back to her room, she might even cry a bit. Almost getting hit by a train while totally powerless was scarier than she thought it'd be.

But the part that was bothering her more was not how she was unlucky enough to have fallen onto the tracks, but how lucky that she was saved by Chat Noir.

How did Chat know she was in trouble?

Why was he in the subway at all? It's not like he needs to take the train.

Which only lead her to one simple conclusion…

A few minutes later of more running and jumping, the Boulangerie Patisserie was in sight.

Chat jumped from another rooftop and landed gracefully on the road, then walked calmly to her door at the side of the building before putting her down.

When her feet were back on the ground, Marinette just stared at them.

"Chat Noir?" she asked slowly. "Why were you in the subway?" After not getting an answer right away, Marinette raised her head to look at him. His eyes were cast aside and his left hand was holding his right arm. "Did you follow me?" she asked a bit more strongly. She was certain what the truth was already—and from his body language, he knew she knew—but she wanted him to admit it. "Chat?" she pushed further.

Finally, Chat looked up at her. "You're still healing…I wanted to make sure you stayed safe," he told her.

"By following me?!" she exclaimed.

"And if I hadn't, you would have been killed by that train!" Chat shouted, dropping his guilty stance. The two stared the other down with angry eyes until seconds later, Marinette's started to fill with tears. Then her lip began to tremble. Chat's eyes softened. "Marinette-" he gently uttered. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell," he apologized.

He really didn't mean to. She was almost killed and she had yelled at him for being there this time to save her. He knew that wasn't the root of her outburst. She hadn't liked that he was following her, as he knew she wouldn't, but he'd never regrate it. Never. Because it meant that he was there to save her.

He was scared. And clearly, so was she.

Marinette let out a sob before throwing her arms around the black-clad feline.

"Thank you," she whispered into his chest.

The harsh reality of what Chat had said hit her hard. As outraged as she was of discovering that he had been following her, the fact was, if he hadn't, she would have been stuck on those tracks. She hadn't been Ladybug. It wasn't like she could transform and jump out herself. Not in front of all those people in the station. Even if she had been totally alone, the train would have most likely hit her before her suit finished appearing. That was a truly scaring thought.

If not for Chat already being there, watching over her, she would have been doomed.

Chat wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back. "It's okay. You're okay," he hushed her. His nose buried itself in her hair, lightly inhaling the sweet aroma of her shampoo. "I won't let anything happen to you." That was a promise.

After a minute, Marinette tried to calm down. She still had more tears to let out but she needed to be able to talk to Chat first. Then she could break down fully in the comfort of her bedroom.

"Chat," she said before pulling away and dropping her hold. Reluctantly, he dropped his arms too and allowed her to take a small step back. "I'm thankful that you were there to save me today, but I'm not too fawned of the idea of you following me around everywhere I go," she told him seriously, having regained her voice.

"I understand. I just…after what happened to you…" Chat replied, expecting her to say that. "I don't even want to see someone I care about get hurt like that ever again."

"I thought you said you were gonna put that behind you?"

"I am. I've forgiven myself. I just wanted to make sure you didn't get hurt again, especially while you're still recovering. I mean, you just got out of the hospital yesterday."

She had to admit, he did have a point. The doctor had told her to take it easy, and she thought she was. Going to school and then the movies wasn't exactly a lot. But today. Today had just been some bad luck.

Maybe there were some remaining affects of Miss Fortune hanging in the air.

"Well…what would you have me do? Stay held up in my room for the next six weeks?" That was roughly how long her doctor said it would take for her injury to heal completely.

"Of course not. I'd never ask you to lock yourself away like that," he said quickly. That was his father's solution for everything and he did not believe in it. "Which is why, I'd thought you'd be fine going out and doing whatever as long as I was watching over you, in case something did happen," he explained.

"That's still kind of stalking," she told him.

"Well I didn't follow you into the theater or the subway the first time because you were with your friend. But you guys separated and you were going home alone." Marinette hear what Chat was saying, and maybe he had a point. Maybe if Alya had been there beside her on her subway ride home, she could have prevented her from falling. Or anyone else. Especially Chat. But he was keeping his distance so he could only jump in after she was already in trouble. "I don't want you to not go out, but I didn't think it was a good idea for you to be out alone. That's all," he clarified. Chat bit his lip, hoping she understood where he was coming from.

Marinette thought about that. She felt safe riding the subway to the theater with Alya and they had both been perfectly fine.

Although, after today, she doesn't know if she'll ever ride again. Company or none.

Maybe having a friend close by—closer as in right beside her—was what she needed.

"Okay," she said, making Chat look at her in surprise. "During my recovery, I promise not to go anywhere alone. If I leave the house, I'll be with a friend or a family member," she promised. That sounded like a fair compromise.

"Really?" He was not expecting her to be so onboard about this.

"After today, I think it's better safe than sorry," she said, trying a small smile.

An even bigger smile slowly grew on Chat's lips before he lung at her, scooping her up in another hug.

"Thank you, Marinette!" he sighed in relief as he spung her around once before putting her down. When he let go, he realized that might have been a little too much. He was just so glad that she was going to take her safety more seriously while she was healing. And it wouldn't fall totally on his shoulders. He trusted their other friends to look out for Marinette if they were with her outside of her home. "I-I just want you to be safe," he said after a nervous cough.

Marinette nodded her head, the smile still on her face. "And I think it will give us all some peace of mind," she agreed.

"Right," he replied, smiling back. Chat's eyes glanced up and noticed the fading light had faded even further since they arrived at her door. It was getting pretty dark. "I should get going before I'm missed at home," he told her while starting to step backwards.

He was just turning around when her voice stopped him.

"Chat," Marinette said. The blonde black cat quickly looked back at her, anticipating whatever else she had to say to him. "Thank you, for caring so much," she said honestly, the sweetest smile on her plump lips.

Chat smiled back. "I care about all of my friends," he replied.

He waved to her, he saw her wave back at him before finally turning away. Jumping up back to the rooftops to make his way home.

When Marinette got up to her bedroom, she didn't feel like crying. With Chat Noir so on her mind, she felt…inspired.

For quite a while, she had been playing around with designs that involved her Ladybug suit and occasionally, Chat Noir's.

Some students at school assumed that she was mad at Chat for causing the arch collapse that put her in the hospital, but that was far from the truth. He just saved her life today. Even if she had been mad at him before—which she wasn't—the slate would have been wiped clean after today.

What better way to showcase her gratitude and show she held no ill feelings towards the feline hero?

After flipping through her sketch book, she found the designs. Blouses, skirts, dresses, sweaters, hats, pants. All of them adorable in one way or another.

She had a good amount of cloth and materials to make at least one outfit. The only difficult thing was going to be picking which one.

Luckily, she had all weekend to decide then make it.

You all know what that means...

Marinette in Chat Noir inspired outfit she designed!

I've seen many in fan art so it's gonna be hard to pick just one for next chapter. If anyone wants to help me narrow it down, that'd be nice.

Please review, favorite, and follow.

Stay safe, stay healthy, stay respectful, and stay tuned ;)